A home safety walkthrough checklist

What a walkthrough is, and is not

A walkthrough is a slow lap through the home with a pencil, writing down what you notice. It is a household observation list, not an assessment of anyone's safety or health.

Federal sources publish room-by-room checklists you can print. The National Institute on Aging offers a Home Safety Checklist worksheet among its caregiver worksheets, and the CDC lists a Check for Safety home checklist on its patient and caregiver resources page. Either can sit in the binder alongside your own notes.

Walk it one room at a time

Pick a time when the house is quiet. It can take ten minutes per room, or you can do one room a day. Write what you see, not what to do about it.

The NIA's Preventing Falls at Home: Room by Room page groups its home-safety ideas by area. Here is a way to organize your own notes the same way.

• Floors, stairs, and hallways — lighting, handrails, loose rugs or carpet edges, things left on the floor
• Bathroom — what is within reach of the toilet, tub, or shower, and whether there is a light at night
• Bedroom — light switches and lamps near the bed, a flashlight, a phone within reach
• Kitchen — whether everyday items are where they can be reached easily
• Entrances and outdoor steps — lighting, steps, walkways
• Living areas — electrical cords, furniture placement, the height of the chairs people use, pets

A place to write what you notice

Use a simple page with three columns: room, what I noticed, and a question to ask. Plain descriptions work best, such as "stairs to the basement: only one handrail" or "bathroom: no light on at night."

Some families add the date and a name or initials, so the next person knows when it was last looked at. If helpers will use the page, put it in the binder next to the contact sheet.

Bring the page to the care team

Anything about equipment, getting in and out of bed or a chair, or how someone moves around the house is a question for the care team. CareKeeper cannot tell you what a particular person needs.

The NIA notes that a doctor may suggest an occupational therapist, physical therapist, or nurse visit the home to look at it. If that is something your care team arranges, your walkthrough notes give them a head start.

For local home modification programs, the NIA points to the Eldercare Locator (800-677-1116) and your local Area Agency on Aging.

Questions you may want to ask

Pick the ones that fit and write the answers on the same page.

• Would someone from the care team, or a therapist you arrange, look at the home?
• Which of the things I wrote down are worth raising first?
• Who do we ask about equipment, and who arranges it?
• What should family do, and not do, when helping with getting up, moving, or bathing?
• Is there a local program that helps with home changes, and who do we call to ask?